The goal of this project is to understand the inhibitory and developmental effects of lipophilic acids, which include preservatives, antiseptics and various drugs. Some of the highly lipophilic compounds are known or suspected to cause brain damage or to be teratogens. For comparison, the effects of these compounds are analyzed in Bacillus subtilis, for which mutants and membrane vesicles can be easily obtained, HeLa and other mammalian cell lines, which can be more directly related to the mammalian problem. Results include: 1) The effects of teratogenic compounds on tissue cultures. 2) The inhibition of growth, membrane transport, oxygen consumption, etc., by hexachlorophene. 3) The induction the Beta-epinephric receptor by butyrate and metabolism of butyrate. 4) The investigation of aspartate transport and metabolism. BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES: Iijima, T., Diesterhaft, M.D., and Freese, E.: Sodium effect of growth on aspartate and genetic analysis of Bacillus subtilis mutant with high aspartase activity. J. Bacteriol., 129(3): 1440-1447, 1977. Tallman, J.F., Smith, C.C., and Henneberry, R.C.: Induction of functional Beta-adrenergic receptors in HeLa cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 74(3): 873-877, 1977.